Z21 ''Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' (German Navy) in the late 1930s. Completed a few months before the start of World War II in September 1939, the ship served as a

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

throughout her career. She briefly patrolled the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' later helped to lay four offensive

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s off the English coast that claimed two British destroyers, 2 fishing trawlers, and twenty-seven merchant ships. During the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, she sank a Norwegian coastal defense ship off

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

and was crippled with the opening shots of the First Naval Battle of Narvik on 10 April, with the loss of 81 crewmen. The ship sank the following day.

Design and description

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' had an overall length of and was

long at the waterline A vessel's length at the waterline (abbreviated to L.W.L)Note: originally Load Waterline Length is the length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (the ''waterline''). The LWL will be shorter than the length of the boat over ...

. The ship had a beam of , and a maximum draft of . She displaced at standard load and at deep load. The two Wagner geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

sets, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce using steam provided by six Wagner boilers for a designed speed of . During ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp''s sea trials, she reached from , but a full-speed test was never conducted.Koop & Schmolke, p. 101 The ship carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

which gave a range of at . Her crew consisted of 10 officers and 313 sailors.Gröner, p. 202 The ship carried five SK C/34 guns in single mounts with

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...

s, two each

superimposed Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Graphics In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to ...

, fore and aft of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. The fifth mount was positioned on top of the rear deckhouse. The guns were numbered from 1 to 5 from front to rear. Her

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

armament consisted of four SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and six C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. Two reloads were provided for each mount. She had four

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

launchers and mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines. 'GHG' ( Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and an active sonar system was installed by the end of 1939.

Construction and career

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was named after Machinist's mate (''Obermaschinist'')

Wilhelm Heidkamp Pumpenmeister (mil. rank: Maat) Wilhelm Heidkamp (20 January 1883 – 5 October 1931) was a German sailor who fought in World War I. Biography Heidkamp was born in Herkenrath and joined the Imperial German Navy as a machinist in 1902. He ...

. He was in charge of the pumps on the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

during the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915. After a British shell started a large fire in the ship's aft gun turrets, he was badly burned when he turned the valves to flood the aft

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, thus saving the ship. The ship was ordered from AG Weser ( Deschimag) on 6 January 1936. She was laid down at Deschimag's

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

shipyard as yard number W923 on 14 December 1937, launched on 20 August 1938, and commissioned on 20 June 1939. After working up, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' became the flagship of the Commander of Torpedo Boats (''Führer der Torpedoboote'')

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

(''Konteradmiral'') Günther Lütjens and patrolled the Skagerrak to inspect neutral shipping for contraband goods in late September. On the night of 17/18 October, the ship led , , , , and ''Z20 Karl Galster'' as they laid a

off the mouth of the River Humber. The British were unaware of the minefield's existence and lost seven ships totaling . On the night of 12/13 November ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'', now the flagship of the Commander of Destroyers (''

Führer der Zerstörer The organization of the ''Kriegsmarine'' refers to the operational and administrative structure of the German Navy from 1935 to 1945. Many of the organizational tenets of the Kriegsmarine were inherited from its predecessor the Reichsmarine. As ...

''), Captain ('' Kapitän zur See'') Friedrich Bonte, escorted ''Z18 Hans Lüdemann'', ''Z19 Hermann Künne'', and ''Z20 Karl Galster'' as they laid 288 magnetic mines in the Thames Estuary. Once again unaware of the minefield's existence, the British lost the destroyer and thirteen merchant ships displacing 48,728 GRT. Less than a week later, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'', ''Z19 Hermann Künne'', and laid 180 magnetic mines in the Thames Estuary on the night of 17/18 November. The mines sank the destroyer , a fishing trawler, and seven ships of 27,565 GRT. After a refit in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

between 27 November and 24 December, Bonte and ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' led a minelaying sortie to the Newcastle area together with Z16 ''Friedrich Eckoldt'', ''Z20 Karl Galster'', and on the night of 10/11 January 1940. The destroyers and were also supposed to participate, but the former had problems with her boilers that reduced her maximum speed to and she had to be escorted back to Germany by the latter ship. The minefield only claimed one fishing trawler of 251 GRT. In retaliation for the ''Altmark'' Incident where the Royal Navy seized captured British sailors from the German tanker ''Altmark'' in neutral Norwegian waters on 16 February, the ''Kriegsmarine'' organized Operation Nordmark to search for Allied merchant ships in the North Sea as far north as the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

. ''Z20 Karl Galster'' and ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' escorted the battleships ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' as well as the heavy cruiser ''Admiral Hipper'' during the

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

between 18 February and 20 February.

Norwegian Campaign

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was the flagship for Group 1, commanded by Commodore ('' Kommodore'') Bonte, for the Norwegian portion of Operation Weserübung in April 1940. The group's task was to transport the 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment (''139. Gebirgsjäger Regiment'') and the headquarters of the 3rd Mountain Division (''3. Gebirgs-Division'') to seize

. The ships began loading troops on 6 April and set sail the next day. On 9 April, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' sank the old coastal defense ship with torpedoes after an attempt to get her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

to surrender failed. Afterwards, she landed her troops in Narvik without resistance and then refuelled from the whale factory ship . Bonte intended for his flagship to patrol the fjord during the night, but Brigadier General (''Generalmajor'') Eduard Dietl, commander of the 3rd Mountain Division, requested that ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' remain in harbor to ease coordination between the Army (''Heer'') and the ''Kriegsmarine'' and to facilitate communications with his commanders. Shortly after dawn on 10 April, the ship was moored aft of ''Jan Wellem'', in Narvik harbor, when the five destroyers of the British

2nd Destroyer Flotilla The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (also styled as Second Destroyer Flotilla) was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946. History The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla originated in early 1907 as a part of a Home ...

, ''Hardy'', ''Havock'', ''Hunter'', ''Hotspur'', and ''Hero'' appeared. ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was struck in the stern by a torpedo from ''Hardy''s first

salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...

that detonated the ship's aft magazine. The explosion threw her aft guns into the air and killed 81 men, including Bonte. Although ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp''s stern was below water, her

, Lieutenant Commander (''Korvettenkapitän'')

Hans Erdmenger The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarde ...

, managed to moor her to a nearby Swedish freighter. She capsized the following day, but not before her torpedoes were transferred to the surviving destroyers. Her survivors joined the other survivors ashore in an ad-hoc

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

unit.Haar, pp. 339–40, 349. 354, 357; Koop & Schmolke, p. 102

Notes

References

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External links

Kriegsmarine destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp 1938 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Type 1936 destroyers Maritime incidents in April 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea Naval magazine explosions